More details from Anolis (http://www.anolis.eu):
Anolis Solution for NIDA
European LED manufacturer Anolis has engineered and produced a custom lighting solution for a major new installation in the foyer space of The Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)’s award winning theatre complex in Kensington, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
A new energy efficient lighting scheme has been installed, replacing 28 recessed 500W PAR 56 halogen fittings with the new Anolis ArcSource 48 MultiChip (MC) fixture, specially designed by Anolis for this project.
The Anolis ArcSource 48 MC consists of twelve 10 Watt Cree MCE RGBW LED chips, which enable full and seamless RGB color mixing plus an excellent selection of ‘real’ whites in a variety of color temperatures.
NIDA’s lighting supervisor Adrian Wright explains that top of their brief for the new lighting was to make a significant reduction in electricity consumption across NIDA’s public areas. They also wanted to use light sources that offered more versatility and dynamics than just a ‘standard white’ lighting scheme.
Practically, the Anolis scheme uses 60 percent less power compared to the previous installation and further long term savings should follow due to the reduced ongoing maintenance required for LEDs.
Wright and the senior management team at the complex made their decision after considering several options and proposals for LED replacements, selecting Anolis for its quality, light output and the retro-fittable design of the Anolis ArcSource 48 MC fitting.
Anolis designed and developed the concept for the new ArcSource in just four weeks, and delivered to NIDA by the ULA Group, Anolis’s Australian distributor.
The building, designed by HASSELL in association with Peter Armstrong Architecture a decade ago, has bold glazed walls, a dramatic sloping canopy and takes on beacon-like lighting qualities after dark.
There were many challenges involved in lighting the foyer’s interior. The throw distance for the fixtures is more than 10 meters (33 feet), so it was essential that the output was the same as the previous scheme, while maintaining energy efficiency, low power consumption and operating costs.
Anolis’s optimized light engine produces a fully homogenized light source across the entire color spectrum, which was a primary factor in choosing the Anolis ArcSource 48 MC over other products, as they didn’t want to see any blockiness or pixelation in the source. Says Wright, “I also wanted plenty of headroom on the intensity front, and as a result, our currently programmed lighting states are all around 50 percent.” They are run via an Ecue control system.
The ArcSource 48 MCs fit into the original PAR 56 housings at NIDA, producing more Lux than their predecessors, with convection cooling ensuring silent operation and each unit individually DMX addressable.
The new lighting has transformed the look and feel of the foyer. With a virtually unlimited color palette at everyone’s fingertips, the space can be themed and colored for different events and occasions without needing additional equipment.
NIDA is a high profile center of excellence and training for gifted young people interested in professional careers in theatre, film and television and the performing arts.
Adrian Wright concludes, “I’m impressed with the support from both Anolis and the ULA Group in enabling us to choose such an outstanding lighting fixture.”
